jaykoe MAC:
Technical
HARD DISK PARTITIONING
one for system >one for apps >one for data >one for scratch/temporary/downloads/cache > >in that order too, you want the essential stuff on the fastest part of >the drive. > >size? > >system is under 200 MB give it 250 MB. [ my OS9 measures 187 MB - which >is astonishing when you consider OS6 is just over 600k and does the >majority of the same things. ] > >apps, only you know, give it some extra to add new ones. > >data, all the rest except ... > >scratch, may be as much as 650 MB and then you can use it for CD burning >as well. you can work it out from what you use in it. photoshop, >netscape, icab, stuffit etc ... > >you might want to stick a lightweight system and a few diagnostic >applications in this partition to allow you to quickly defrag the other >partitions on board and as Cyber says. > >there again, if you are working on video you might want to another clean >partition just for video material before data. > >with the exclusion of video, you can get away with none *until* the big >crash. not if but when. when the big crash comes you will be chuffed with >yourself for having done it. > >using multiple drives you can spread partitions over them. one trick >would be to use a smaller but fast drive for your system and afford >yourself a huge slower drive for data.

I am considering getting a larger HD, and I intend to partition it. > > > >Are there folk who do this and have found a recommendable system as to >what > >gets kept separate & etc?

What files change regularly as a result of the OS and programs >running? Put all of those on one disk. - Cache files, prefs, >clippings, email, logs, YMMV. Inevitably this will contain your >system and will be the startup drive. Make sure to have enough free >space on your startup drive to contain a VM file (real RAM + 1MB) >Even if you run Gigs of memory, occasionally some bl**dy app requires >VM to be turned on. (Last one I recall was a version of Real Player) > >

Decide how you want to divide and store your work. On my desktop I >have both a 'Work' drive for current projects and a 'Clients' drive >for saved work handily accessible. The latter rarely gets fragged as >it doesn't get changed a lot. The 'Work' drive gets horribly messy >but is quick and easy to defrag, and being a separate volume it can >be checked and defragged from my normal startup drive. (It's also >mirrored to another physical drive via SoftRaid) > >

Most applications don't change anything in their home directory when >they run and keep their prefs file (s) in the System Folder. (Bl**dy >Quark breaks the rules of course!) I like to have a drive called >'Apps' to keep 'em all on. > >

If you use lots of typefaces put 'em all on one drive. > >

I like to have at least one 'Spare' drive, gives me somewhere to dump >stuff temporarily, means I don't frag my other drives with odds and >sods files. And I can mess about with games and such. > >

The 'Scratch' drive is specifically for Pshop. Actually it is better >to locate this on a fast, separate, physical drive with a good >interface. It's supposed to be even quicker to use a 10MB (?) RAM >disk as the primary scratch and the dedicated drive as the secondary. >Pshop ALWAYS goes to it's primary scratch even if you are only >editing a 1 pixel x 1 pixel gif. I have a scratch drive big enough to >take a full CD of stuff if I need to assemble a CD before burning. > >

How will you backup? (You WILL backup won't you?) Making drive sizes >compatible with media sizes or multiples thereof might help prevent >that annoying Vol. 3 with just a few files on it, in a backup set.
BUYING RAM
http://www.crucial.com/uk